


Starbound

by Endeering



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Witch Shop, Claudeleth Gift Exchange (Fire Emblem), F/M, Fluff, Living Together, Mutual Pining, Soul Bond, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28327143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endeering/pseuds/Endeering
Summary: After accidentally making Lorenz sick with what he swears wasn't an intentionally prank, Claude is sent to fetch medicine at an apothecary recommended to him by Marianne and Lysithea.What he didn't expect coming out of the apothecary was to be soulfully bound to the girl he met one fateful night at the planetarium who also happens to be the daughter of a witch.Christmas Gift Exchange for the Chlores Discord Server
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Starbound

**Author's Note:**

> Christmas gift for Maï on the Chlores server! Hope you enjoy this first chapter since I'll be adding more as it goes on but it got too wordy for a one-shot lol

* * *

_Verdant Rain Moon 2185_

Claude von Riegan, local schemer of Derdriu Uni, loved the night sky. As a child, it was one of the few sources of comfort he could afford in loneliness. He remembers lying on the grass in the back garden of his home to watch the distant twinkling lights slowly awaken beneath the blanket of sunset. A symphony of cicadas heralded the coming of summer and he would spend the entire night naming constellations and recalling the tales of dragons and warriors that granted their titles.

But it was a time bygone and time waits for no one.

Now, as a college student at one of the most prestigious universities in Fodlan, he missed seeing his beloved night sky. Staying up was no issue since he was often stuck in the library reading or studying just like tonight, but Derdriu was a heavily industrialized city with looming skyscrapers and designer brand shops and night clubs lining the streets, always bustling with tourists. He could hardly see a star in sight when the lights of night life spill across the sky like milk on an obsidian countertop. 

Claude sighed and spared a glance outside the window beside him. A dot of light was the only noticeable thing beyond the whitewashed sky. _‘Plane,’_ he guessed absentmindedly, and he only felt hollow as the aircraft continued along its flight until it disappeared out of sight. 

He leaned back in his chair and stretched before checking the time on his laptop. It was a little past 8:30 pm by the time he submitted his lab report for the week, and he had plans to visit his special place today before it closed at 9. It would be the last time for a while since midterms were coming up fast and he was nowhere close to memorizing six chapters of biochemistry. Packing up his belongings with practiced ease, he padded out of the library and towards the planetarium.

* * *

As the building came within sight, street pole banners colored with the university colors of gold and green caught his eyes on the route leading up to it.

_[Celebrating 1000 years of history]_

_[Derdriu University Planetarium]_

_[Founded 1185]_

_‘1000 years huh? It’s a shame that I’ll be missing out on most of the events,’_ he thought as he approached the planetarium. The building was dusty grey from the numerous paint jobs done to maintain a stately appearance, though whoever the painter was clearly not a professional as uneven patches of extra paint dotted the walls. He remembered a tipsy Ignatz lamenting a little too dramatically over the sight the first time they visited together, the memory putting a hop to his step as he laughed to himself internally. 

Walking through the place sent a wave of familiarity through him. The grumpy student receptionists worked the boring late hour shifts below models of planets and stars that hung from the ceiling like mobiles. The hallways are carpeted with royal blue carpeting and walls decorated with colorful LED screens, depicting galaxies and astronomical phenomena simulated for viewer’s pleasure. Claude pulled out his phone and checked the time before he could forget. _‘8:45 pm’_ glared back at him upon a selfie Hilda insisted on taking at the start of summer break. 

He looked up and noticed something caught his eye. Various signs pointed toward a new exhibit open for the thousand-year celebration and being a curious boy at heart (curse Judith’s nickname for him), he followed the arrows pointing toward a completely new room made for the occasion and his jaw dropped, stunned at the display before him.

The room was circular with floor lights outlining the path around the central display. While the space for this exhibit wasn’t large, it made up for it with the planets of the solar system _floating_ atop a pedestal in the center of it. Intrigued by how it was accomplished, he stepped toward as the velvet rope surrounding the display would allow him and closely observed above and crouched to look below the spheres for a glimmer of string or wire. Nope, nothing, probably all held up by a magnetic field. Standing up again, he whistled quietly to himself, impressed, before turning toward what really caught his eye: the glowing golden sun on the right and the silver moon on the left were placed towards the back of the room above a tank full of water and little fish and crustaceans. 

While not exactly to scale, the sheer enormity of the models was breathtaking. Both were fitted into the nooks carved into the wall, the soft white light from the moon and the warmer tones of the sun reflecting off the surface of the water. In the center of the display between both astronomical bodies was a plaque describing the exhibit:

_“The Sun and the Moon work together to create the tides we experience here on Earth. Most of the rise of the tides comes from the gravitational pull of the Moon, but a small amount comes from the Sun. When the two objects are on the same side of the Earth, we get the highest and lowest tides, and when they’re on opposite sides of the Earth, the tides are less extreme.”_

“Hmm,” Claude heard. _‘Never knew the sun played a role in making tidal wa-’_

…Wait, _who just made that sound?_

Alarmed, his head swiveled to his left. The first thing he sees in the dim lighting of the artificial moon is her deep blue hair and eyes as she continues to stare up at the plaque, deep in thought with her right hand curled up to her cheek. Dressed in a black windbreaker and dark blue jeans, she seemed to blend into the background, as if trying to fully immerse herself in the planetarium. It absolutely worked because he did not hear her enter at all.

But he was a bit confused, if he was being honest. Not many people cared about astronomy enough to be visiting so late. She looked like another student and not just a random guest from off-campus, yet not once had he ever seen her around before and he’s been to this planetarium for around two years now. Maybe she was younger than him? Even so, new students didn’t usually live so close to campus and they certainly don’t take summer classes before their first year.

Before he could continue his train of thought, the girl backed away from her spot and walked behind him to take a closer look at the sun. Respecting her space, he shuffled to the left and she nodded at him in acknowledgement, not meeting his eyes. Some of the floor lights were starting to turn off, indicating the start of closing time. Right on cue, both turned toward the sound of footsteps in the hallway. One of the student employees he had seen earlier at the reception desk poked her head in the room. Her black hair fell in waves over her right shoulder as she spotted them. 

“Hi there, we’re closing now so please finish up soon,” was all she said before she quickly waved and departed.

Did he really take up that much time for this one exhibit because of a girl? His “one and only best friend”, as Hilda described herself, would be questioning him nonstop if she ever knew about this.

_She was just here for the special event, right? He probably won’t even see her again after this._

Speaking of best friends, Claude wished he could have brought the Golden Deer with him. They were all far busier these past few years compared to their first year as floormates, but that never deterred them from the occasional hangout. Though normally after classes, Hilda, Leonie, and Raphael would socialize and eat at frat parties (Leonie and Raph did more of the latter, Hilda does more of the talking) while Leonie, Lorenz, Ignatz, and Marianne would be studying through the night or working on club projects. None of his friends really shared the same hobbies as him. He didn’t mind, but he wished he could meet someone that loved to look at constellations and learn about galaxies as much as he does. 

Maybe that was asking for too big of a wish for the stars to grant him. It was a miracle that he became friends with the Golden Deer at all with how easily they could’ve gone their separate ways.

Fate agreed; the mysterious girl was long gone before he could say a word. 

* * *

_Noon, Horsebow Moon_

Sunlight filtered through the canopy of leafy vines above him, casting dots of light across the pages of his biochem notebook. It was lunchtime and the Golden Deer invited him out to eat, an event that occurred once in an azure moon when their schedules aligned. While the dining area of the campus eateries was not the ideal place to be cramming study material into his brain, it was a good distraction from the cacophony of students celebrating someone’s birthday in broad daylight right beside the table he’s calling dibs on.

A darker shadow was suddenly casted over his page of chicken scratch sketches, and before he could register it, his head was warm and the air around him was scented with the smell of… chicken?

“Wha- hey!” Claude exclaimed, his hands raising to remove whatever was on his head. Leonie laughed and finally lifted the plastic bag of meal boxes from his head before sitting beside him. The rest of his friends followed closely behind her as they all took their seats at the table, variations of “hi” and “hey” echoed between them. Everyone was here except Ignatz, Lysithea, and Lorenz, oddly enough. Lorenz Hellman Gloucester was never late to a meeting, not even a casual one. 

The redhead was still grinning as she passed around utensils and boxes filled with sandwiches, burgers, or salad. Raphael also placed down a drink carrier full of lemonade and smoothies for himself, Hilda, and Marianne. Claude glared playfully at her to which she responded, “Don’t give me that look, I literally texted you and Lysithea _specifically_ to not study when we’re hanging out. It’s rude,” she picked up a beef skewer from her box and took a bite, the aromatic herbs and spices wafting over the table. “I do kinda feel bad for you since I did drop out of that class last minute to avoid,” she waved her hand in the general direction of his messy arrangement of textbooks, loose papers, his notebook, and his laptop, “ _that.”_

As if on cue, Hilda’s carefully manicured fingers grasped the end of his notebook and flung it closed before pushing a plate of barbecue wings toward him. “She’s right, Claude. Do your studying later, you’ll do fiiiine. Not back at my place though, I’m having friends over.” 

Claude rolled his eyes and chuckled before grabbing a wing and taking a bite. The sauce was sweet and the meat was tender and well-seasoned. His mouth started watering and he ate a bit more before replying with a grin, “Banned from my temporary home? Where will I go now? I guess it _has_ been long overdue that I ask the old librarian if I can live in the comfy corner with all the cushions. Excellent napping spot.” 

“Wait Claude, you haven’t found a place yet? The school year starts soon, you sure you’ll be okay?” asked Raphael, already reaching for a steak sandwich from the second bag after finishing his meat plate. Or at least that’s what Claude assumed the sandwich was. The big guy was very consistent with his lunch preferences and they haven’t really changed since he first met him. 

“Nope, not yet. Still trying to find a place that’ll welcome me with open arms.” 

Marianne spoke up quietly, brows furrowed and a worried glimmer in her eyes. “You can still stay with us, Claude. We won’t turn you away if nothing turns up.” Claude smiled at that, his heart warm at the thought that he could always trust his friends to have his back. 

“Ah don’t worry about it. As much as I love you and Hilds, I really shouldn’t overstay my welcome. Hilda is already putting her accessory kits all over and into my stuff instead of just moving it.” 

At the mention of her name, the pink-haired girl perked up from scrolling through her phone that was placed on a napkin on the table. “Um yeah, that’s because you can’t be bothered to clean up to begin with. Where else am I supposed to put the glass beads for my bracelets?”

“In _my_ Erlenmeyer flasks?”

“That’s what they’re called? And yes, I didn’t want to use the glass jars in the kitchen,” she replied with a satisfied smile, her head held high. Claude started rubbing his face with his clean hand, recalling the annoyance he felt when he arrived home late one night only for him to have to clean up after her. Leave it to Hilda to find every shortcut to do as little work as possible.

Claude sighed. “Anyway, back on the whole apartment searching thing. Who wouldn’t want a charming guy like me around?” he winked at Marianne to emphasize his point, to which she giggled behind a hand. Leonie rolled her eyes jokingly and nudged him with her elbow.

“Lorenz would disagree. Oh, speaking of Lorenz, he spammed the group chat earlier to yell at you and then got even madder when you weren’t seeing the messages,” she guffawed at the last part.

“Wait, what messages?” He wasn’t surprised that Lorenz was in a less-than-chipper mood as per usual but because of him? He didn’t _do_ anything to him, at least not recently. 

Back when they were freshmen, the pre-law student had the gods-awful habit of pontificating his political ideals to anyone in his vicinity. While he wasn’t a bad guy, he was incredibly obnoxious so Claude would maybe kinda added a little special something to his drinks or food when he got a chance. A little laxative wasn’t dangerous, just enough to drag his head back from his lofty clouds. That was then, though. Now they were on much better terms, though leave it to Lorenz to always play devil’s advocate whenever Claude is involved. 

He was about to reach for his backpack to take out his phone, but Hilda was one step ahead of him. Finished with her salad, she quickly picked up her phone and opened the group chat before handing it to him. Claude scrolled up as he read:

\-- Today --

<Lorenz>: CLAUDE

<Lorenz>: YOU’D BETTER REPLY RIGHT NOW 

<Lorenz>: I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU

<Lorenz>: I;M SO LVID THT I CAN;T EVEN TYOE PROPERLYY 

<Ignatz>: Whoa what happened 

<Leonie>: Yeah seriously captain just gave us a break and I could hear my phone vibrate outside my bag 

<Lysithea>: What’d he do this time 

<Lorenz>: HE OFFERED ME SOME OF HIS ENERGY DRINK THIS MORNING AND IT WAS SPICED WITH CHILI FLAKES

<Leonie>: LOL WHUT 

<Hilda>: OMG REALLY?? EW THAT SOUNDS NASTY

<Leonie>: STOP MY SIDES STILL HURT FROM PRACTICE LMAO 

<Raphael>: Wait does that really give you energy? I want to try some of that 

<Marianne>: I don’t think energy drinks are supposed to be spicy 

<Raphael>: Aw that sucks, it sounds like it’d be a real kick 

<Lorenz>: They’re not and it’s been a kick to my digestive system! Claude you’d better buy medicine for my sick stomach by tomorrow for this crime you’ve committed! 

<Lorenz>: WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING ANY OF THIS YOU NITWIT

<Lorenz>: I REGRET EVER THINKING THAT I COULD CALL YOU A FRIEND IF THIS IS WHAT KEEPS HAPPENING 

<Ignatz>: Can one of you let him know at lunch? I can’t make it because of office hours 

<Lysithea>: Same

<Hilda>: I’ll do it dw

\--

‘ _Oh. Well then, I guess I did do something after all.’_

“Huh, I was wondering where Lysi and Iggy went,” Claude commented nonchalantly, hoping to ease the awkward silence that lingered after he finished reading. Everyone was already done with their lunches and were looking at him expectantly for an explanation.

Claude held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t prank him on purpose. That drink was supposed to be for me as a bit of a joke. Coffee wasn’t really doing it for me anymore, so I tried something new and exciting.” Hilda and Leonie gave him deadpanned stares, clearly not convinced. Marianne looked even more worried, if that was possible. “I swear on my life I’m not lying. C’mon guys, you know I don’t do that anymore without a _very_ good and valid reason.” 

Before anyone else can ask for a clarification about what possible reasons those could be, Raphael jumped right in to ask, “Did it actually work?” 

“Eh, not really. I’ll recommend it to you whenever it does.”

“Okay, sounds good!” 

Leonie sighed. “Well, _you’re_ going to have to buy him that medicine or else this is all we’re gonna hear from him for another week at least.” She started packing all their leftovers back into the bags to throw them away, Marianne lending her a hand. The blue-haired girl signaled to Claude to pass his plate to her before she spoke.

“I know a place where you can find milk of magnesia for his stomach. The student pharmacy here won’t give you one without a prescription.” She rummaged through her jean pockets and pulled out a folded strip of notebook paper before holding it out to him. Claude took it gently before unfolding it. On it was an address.

_‘Valeria Apothecary’. Never heard of it._

“Lysithea recommended it to me yesterday when I was looking for medicines to treat Dorte. You can ask Sitri, the shopkeeper, to see if she has any in stock. She’s, um, really nice and helpful and she won’t charge extra or anything.” Marianne fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, unsure if it was a good suggestion.

Well, it wasn’t like Claude really had a choice in the matter if Lorenz was harping him. He’ll have to take a detour back towards the apartment to find it, but if Marianne said it’s a good place, he can trust her word on that. He can’t beat a pre-med/veterinary student on the subject of nutrition and health. 

“I’ll pay her a visit later today then. Thanks Marianne, this is a great help.”

* * *

In the warm light of the afternoon sun, it didn’t take long to find the place, as obscure as the name was to him. Nestled between a sports shop and a kitchenware store, the apothecary stood out with its potted plants hanging over the large shop window. Through the glare on it, he could make out shelves full of medicine and bottles of vitamins.

_‘Seems nice enough. Wonder how Lysithea heard of this place,’_ Claude pondered, adjusting one of the straps of his backpack as he strolled in through the open door. The doorbell chimed a pleasant tune to announce his presence, and the employee at the front counter looked up from her book. Claude froze when he recognized who it was.

“Welcome to Valeria Apoth- oh it’s you.” The blue-haired girl from the planetarium gave him a friendly nod, her red glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose a bit before she pushed them back up and continued reading. Claude blinked, still surprised to see her again and here of all places. Now that he can see her in broad daylight instead of the dim glow of the planetarium, he noticed the choppy cut of her hair flowing over her shoulders. Dressed in a black halter top and leggings with pink accents, he had to admit: she’s pretty. Really pretty.

Upon realizing what he just thought, he quickly looked away and tried to play it cool by walking in a random direction only to realize that was a DUMB idea when his head hit an overhanging sign attached to one of the shelves, rustling all the items on it. Alerted to the sound, the blue-haired girl looked up to see him cursing quietly to himself and he immediately turned away before he could see her blank stare.

_‘That was embarrassing,’_ he sighed after he made sure he was out of her line of sight. It wasn’t like him to think that way about someone he just met, so what could have prompted that thought? He shook his head. _‘I should just get the medicine for Lorenz and leave. This is getting a bit weird and just when I thought I wouldn't see her around again.’_

Wandering through a few aisles, Claude soon found exactly what he needed in the back corner. After carefully reading the label, he picked it up but stopped when he noticed something behind it that wasn’t just more bottles. Something dark and wooden. 

Without hesitation, he pushed the bottles of medicine aside (Lorenz can wait, he was sure) and carefully placed his hand on the object. It was smooth and cold to the touch, the small engravings he couldn’t see gracing his fingers as he picked it up. It was a mahogany jewelry box and in the sunlight, he could more clearly see the indentations of the engravings that branched out from the front and all along the sides of it. On its lid was a painted image of two stars entwined in a dance, if he had to guess by the vague lines. 

What was this doing here? Did someone lose it, and why was it sitting behind medication as if it was meant to be hidden? So many burning questions were swirling around in Claude’s mind as he wondered what the origins of this box could be. 

_‘I suppose the easiest way to find out would be to ask. I can’t just leave this here when it looks pretty valuable.’_

Embarrassment fully set aside, he was about to walk back toward the front of the shop and ask who he supposed was the shopkeeper when the box shook. Once. Then twice. Claude yelled in surprise as the thing seemed to suddenly feel unbearably heavy and dragged him down onto the ground. He winced as his forearm took much of the impact before he settled down more comfortably to figure out what just occurred. 

After overcoming his initial shock, he tried to take his hand off the box but it wouldn’t budge. Starting to feel panicked, he struggled in vain to pull his hand away when he saw something blue from the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw the blue-haired girl right beside him, noticeably without her glasses, helping him pry the box off with one hand gripping his arm and the other onto the box. From how close she was, he could catch a whiff of lavender grass and coffee and peered at her face. She wore a placid expression, as if nothing about this situation was surprising or off-putting in the slightest.

Hmm. How interesting. He’ll have to save that observation for later, when he wasn’t locked into a game of tug-of-war with a box.

The stars on the lid started to glow after he zoned back into his predicament, the light emanating from it growing brighter and brighter until it was hard to see. Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt his arm being flung backward as the box finally relinquished its hold on him and went skidding across the wooden floorboards towards the back corner of the shop. Breathing heavily, Claude noticed the girl’s iron grip on his arm and how she also looked as exhausted as he was, her gaze still focused on the offensive object sitting innocently across from them. 

He gently placed his now-freed hand onto hers to get her attention. Startled, she looked towards him, her expression still calm but her face was pallid, eyes now a storm of emotions he couldn’t quite identify in the split second before she turned away. Standing up, she extended a hand to help him up and made sure he was steady on his feet before walking away to pick up the jewelry box. Upon a quick inspection, she said, in a clipped tone, “I’m sorry about that. We’ll be closing now,” before walking away. Following her a short ways, he saw a door close behind the counter with the wooden sign “ _EMPLOYEES ONLY”_ written in neat script tacked onto it. Storage room, most likely.

Still flabbergasted and winded at what just happened, Claude brushed himself off and rubbed his sore forearm before looking around. Guess it couldn’t be helped and it would have been difficult and awkward to stick around, but it kind of stung that she outright left him behind without much of a goodbye.

Even so, it seemed like there was more to her than just a late-night stranger or a shopkeep.

Claude turned on his heel and made his way toward the exit. He’ll have to find Lorenz’s medicine elsewhere or things between them aren’t going to be pretty come tomorrow. But just as his foot crossed the threshold of the door, he felt himself being yanked by his jacket and he suddenly he was back on the ground _again._

“Are you KIDDING me?” he vented to himself in frustration. _‘How many more times am I going to be treated like a ragdoll? What the heck is it now?’_ He sat up and looked behind him. Nobody was there. He checked the door handle to see if his backpack was caught on it by chance. It wasn’t.

Before he could make any more presumptions of what could have been the second culprit to his accidents, he heard a loud crash then hurried footsteps from within the shop growing louder and louder until the storage room door flew open and the girl returned, both out of breath and eyes wide with shock, staring at him as if he was the one who just appeared instead of her. 

He was about to ask her what’s going on when he heard a familiar voice curse none too quietly right beside him. His head whipped around immediately and standing before him, dressed in a long black coat with gold embellishments and hair tied up with a black and white ribbon, was a seething Lysithea.

  
“Claude,” she paused, as if trying to recollect herself before smiting him from this plane of existence, “You’d better have a good reason for why you’re in a _witch’s shop_ and for what the _hell_ I just saw.”


End file.
